The Mystery Revealed: What Is My Job?

Anyone that has been keeping up with my blog or Facebook updates knows that I recently started working again. The big question that has been surrounding the news is: What the heck is the job?

It's funny how I've been talking about it and I haven't really described it at all. So if you've been on pins and needles: The time has finally come! If you haven't... well, I'll tell you anyway.

I basically work for a company that deals with doctors (more specifically in the radiology fields) continuing their education wanting to keep up with current technology and practices. What does that mean? I'll break it down for you now.

As some of you may or may not know, certain professions need to keep up to date on information regarding their fields. For example, doctors need to be able to know any new procedures that may take over outdated or dangerous ones. Another example may be new diagnosis or machine information. Either way, there are requirements doctors need to meet for keeping up with all of this information.

When it comes to confirming these doctors have kept up on their knowledge there are different ways to go about it. One of the most well known is in the form of conferences. Groups of people come together at a convention center and listen to their peers talk in front of projections with slides and take notes. It is a simplified example but you get the point. Another possibility for those that didn't or couldn't take the time to go on these conferences includes watching a recording of these conferences and then taking a test and submitting it for review. If they pass then the doctor is awarded a certificate verifying the time has been put in to update their knowledge.

If you're wondering what all this babble has to do with my job, it has everything to do with it. The company I work for coordinates both the conferences, the recordings and all of the materials like workbooks and DVDs. It's a medium sized group with about 25 people all together. Most of the jobs are very specific but a few have some flexibility, like mine.

So, finally, this is what I do. To put it in its basic form I work in the shipping department. What I do there is take in orders that have been placed on the desk and process them. I check the computer to verify all of the information, collect the workbooks and DVDs, box them up and print shipping labels for the boxes. But, like I said before, I flow between there and another department. I also work with the guy that makes the workbooks for the meetings and home studying.

It's an interesting process that basically uses a large printer to make the books by printing the pages and then we bind them using strips with adhesive that are melted on to the spines of the books. It sounds simple, and it is, but is also very affective.

So after all of that reading you know what I do. I'll try to keep it more interesting for the next post. Maybe talk a bit about training for the 15k run in March or even stuff out of my personal life.

A New Year: A New Direction

Something I don't often talk about is my beliefs in religion and God. It's always a difficult subject to cover with such a wide spectrum of opinions and cultures. I feel that everyone has a right to make their own decisions. This is a post that helps me feel more comfortable saying that God is watching over me.

The world is a complicated place and at times can feel like there is no order. Other times things fall into place almost like they were meant to. For me, many of the big changes that happen feel like they were a part of a bigger plan. This time is no exception.

Since May this year I have not had a steady job outside of my freelance photography gigs. I relied on savings, friends offering work on shoots and even a one time blood donation that paid me $500 because it involved research for cancer patients.

Things were not bad for me but it came to a point where I had to stay home and save the little money that I had to pay the bills. I worked on editing photos for the few jobs I got as well as some personal photos. I lost touch with friends and it got boring. In November I began to realize that I was not going to be able to make enough money beyond the holidays to pay my bills so I had to find a steady job. Things did not go well. I went to retailers and applied but the time for seasonal hiring had just passed me by. I was too late. Through December I followed a few leads but had no responses. I wasn't discouraged but it wasn't looking good.

Right about the end of December I also got back in touch with a friend and she mentioned wanting to get serious about running, something I knew a good deal about. Since I wanted to get back into it we decided to start running together. We ran for two weeks and talked about getting more people involved. A few days later I receive a call from this friend mentioning a running group that meets every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday at one of the local malls. They train runners for marathons and half-marathons for a fee but running with them is free on Thursdays.

I decide to join her and see what it's like. I'm optimistic because it is always easier to run with a group. After the first day I decide to go on Thursdays to take advantage of the free run. This was about two and a half weeks ago.

All the while this is happening I am still looking for work. After the new year I agreed with my mother to get help with a work agency to find something for me. After calling and emailing a few places my opportunities look slim because my photography experience is difficult to apply to office applications. My mother then tells me of a few places to go in person.

The morning I decide to go in person started badly with the first agency telling me they required at least three years of office experience for anyone they help. I walked out of there thinking this was going to be a waste of my time. The second office was a bit different. As soon as I walk through the door I see a person in the doorway to their office and I'm thinking..."Wait a second".

Standing there with the same look on her face as mine is one of the women from the group I just started running with. We both take a moment to laugh at the situation and she starts asking what I'm doing there. After a brief explanation we go to her desk and she begins to tell me about an opportunity that just opened up. It is a very relaxed environment and it has opportunity for a full-time position. She then takes a moment to look at the address on my resume and she says that the job is located on the same street. I later find out this place is just five minutes from where I live.

We start getting the paperwork ready and within twenty four hours I am hired. I am officially starting work tomorrow (January 11) at 8:30am. The guy who will be training me is supposedly getting ready to retire and it looks like I will end up taking over for him when he leaves.

There are so many things that fell into place that it just boggles my mind about the timing of it all.

On a side note, this new job will definitely slow down the progression of my photography career but it won't stop it from happening. It will actually help me gain the funds to buy equipment. I will only be able to do things on the weekends or evenings now but it will take care of the more important priorities of paying my bills.

I look forward to where this road may lead me. And I hope to say it may be something big.

The New Year

Congratulations to everyone that survived the new year. It is that time again to set goals that probably won't be achieved. But on a more positive note, let's enjoy the time that we think they can be achieved.

It is not about avoiding something because you think you will fail but more about trying something despite the chance that you will.

The hardest part is keeping up with good habits trying to avoid the old bad ones. Just remember to stay positive and keep going. This blog is about looking back a month from now and trying to keep the energy going. I can say a lot of good positive things but sometimes you just have to find it in yourself. Whatever it is in you, find it and use it to reach your goals.

My Return To Storytelling: The Hand

Surprise surprise, it has been a while since last we spoke and I'm not exactly shocked to read the last time I posted was back in September and it is now late December.

The sad part is that I have had an interesting set of experiences since then. The good news for those of you reading is that now you get to hear about them. And again, the bad news is that I will only be able to talk about one event during this post. I originally planned to only skim over this topic but as you can see I went to into more detail than expected.

So to start my timeline I will begin with an interesting story. At the same time as my last two posts (my birthday and dog passing away) I had something else happen but felt it was trumped by the other posts.

At that time I was really getting into the habit of riding my bicycle around the neighborhood. Since I was doing it two to three times a week I felt confident and was going a bit faster than I should have been. One day after a short rainy spell I decided to go biking. On the final straightaway for the ride there were a lot of bushes and branches over the path that were being weighed down by water. To avoid them I decided to duck down and ride under them. By doing this I lost balance and ran into a chain-linked fence effectively dislocating my right pinky at the knuckle.

This might sound like it was a bad situation but it could have been worse. I was spared serious injury because of two things. One, because it was the end of the ride my body was effectively warmed up and loose. I was able to pull my finger back into place easily. It actually popped out twice since I wasn't sure at the time that it had in fact popped out of the socket. The second time, however, I figured it wasn't normal to make a fist with the pinky being out of line with the rest of the fingers. The second thing that saved me is a bit of an unsafe statement. My handlebars were loose and were pushed to an awkward angle as I hit the fence. So it looks like my finger was spared to a degree. If the handlebars had been tightly secured I could have easily had something worse happen like losing my finger entirely.

I made it home without anything else happening but I made a mistake by not securing my finger into place. After taking a shower I felt a very distinct pop in my hand and I knew instantly that it wasn't a good thing. I got dressed and approached my family for advice. They were not sure what to think and asked if I could try and pull my finger back into place. I tried a few times but my body had cooled down and it was beginning to be painful. It came as a surprise to me to see my mother, who at one point was a nurse, become a bit uneasy with the situation. Everyone decided that I should probably go to the ER and have a professional put it back in place.

All the while I had been texting two friends in the medical field asking them their opinion. At first they thought it funny. Once they realized I was telling the truth they told me I should avoid wasting time and money by going to the ER and just have someone at home pull my finger. Yeah, funny statement but it worked.

As I stood in my living room with my mother and sister watching anxiously I had my father brace my wrist and pull my pinky. It all happened within two seconds but it stays sharp in my mind. One moment I feel a quick sharp pain in my pinky knuckle and the next moment I feel a distinct pop again. This time I know it's a good pop and I scream out, "That's it!". My mother gets a bandage and we quickly wrap my hand up so the pinky doesn't have a chance to dislocate again.

In the end I was fortunate that there wasn't any significant damage to any tendons and that I didn't break any bones. The first month my hand felt really uncomfortable and I wrapped it up to limit the motion. After a few weeks I tried go without any support but I still felt a bit of pain. I should have kept the support but by that time my pinky had gone completely stiff and it was difficult to bend on its own. So in my mind I wanted to start the rehabilitation process.

My hand is not at 100% even now but I have full range of motion in my pinky. If I try to make a tight fist I feel weakness in the knuckle and there is still a bit of pain. I foolishly tried exercising on a punching bag to test my hand and I could feel any progress in the healing process step back at least two weeks. I think it's just a matter of time and smart exercise to regain the strength in my hand.

One of the things I learned from this experience is to appreciate a healthy body free of injuries. Try to be smart when doing anything active. I also learned that using one hand instead of two is difficult for even the simplest of day to day things.

Why Not?

I figured there aren't many days when you can really enjoy celebrating much in your own honor so I wanted to say this:  
Happy Birthday to me!
Yeah, I said it. Why not? I plan on making this an interesting year once again. Now all I have to do is figure out how. Have a good day everyone.

A Sad Day For The Family

There have been few times within this blog's history that I have posted something within a quick time frame of an event happening. Today I felt compelled to post a topic that is very dear to my heart and to my family's as well.

On September 6, 2011 my family made the difficult decision to put our beloved dog Gordo to sleep. He was a loyal pet for over 14 years and will be greatly missed.

I don't think there is anything else I need to say.

How Did I Get Here?

To continue my story I will tell you about what happened next.

   I took medication the entire time I was on the Diamond. I reacted well to the treatment and near the end of the contract my kidneys were found to be healthy. Due to the type of medication I was taking (Prednisone; a type of steroid for those of you wondering) I could not simply stop taking it. The dose would be lowered gradually over time and it was expected for me to stop taking it within a matter of months. By the time I was supposed to finish with the medicine I would be on the Caribbean Princess.

    The day came and went and I was happy to say the least. It was a good time aboard that Caribbean Princess and I was glad to have one less thing to worry about. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. A week later I noticed there was a lot of bubbles in my urine again. It had been a long time since I had seen it like that. At first I played it off to not drinking enough water but it happened again the next few times I went to the bathroom. I finally went to the doctor and they confirmed my fears. The symptoms were not as severe as before but my problem was coming back. We caught it early so I was put on small dose of Prednisone and things seemed ok. By the time I went home my dose of medicine was almost done and I was scheduled to go see my doctor again.

   Around this time I was also up for a renewal of my medical certificate for working at sea. The certificate basically states that I am healthy and physically able to work on a ship. I knew that this was probably an issue and talked with the company. They told me to see my doctor first and then have him report back to them.

   When I spoke to my doctor he told me that my problem had in fact returned and that I would need to take a larger dose of medicine again for a few more months. Then, another blood test would determine if my kidneys were healthy again. If so, I would taper off the medication like before and eventually finish over time. I asked the doctor if I was cleared for work and he said that I should be as long as I took my medication.

   When I emailed the company about the situation they replied with a phone number to call. When I dialed the number I was connected to a person in the medical department. They proceeded to tell me in a polite manner that my medical certificate would not be renewed as long as I was taking medication. I was told that if I wanted to return to a ship that I needed to be done with my medication and show no signs of my condition returning. Considering I was supposed to take my medicine for another two months with a possible two to three months of tapering, at the very least, it would be about four to six months before I would be able to return. This was one of those times where things just didn’t seem real. I thanked them for their time and the phone call was over.

   This was at the end of May. I am still in good standings with the cruise company but technically speaking I am “unfit for sea”. It’s sort of like a leave of absence in a way. I have no negative feelings towards the people I talked to and was actually treated very well by the staff at corporate. It was just a situation out of my control. I honestly enjoyed my time working on cruise ships and would consider going back if I could but life has pushed me away and I’m thinking it’s for a reason.

   

   Since then I have been doing a bit freelance photography work. I don’t have a lot of gear but I’ve been making things work. I’ve been trying to find a steady gig but I was in denial about not having a job. Now I’m trying to be more proactive. I’ve been slowly updating my portfolio and trying to figure things out. It’s not going to be easy but I think it’s just a matter of time and effort before I bounce back.

   As for my health, my kidneys are officially healthy again and I am now tapering off medication. I am in the process of running again and also trying to eat better overall.

   I know this was a lot to read but if you made it all the way you now know me a little better. I’d like to mention that I’m still positive about things and that I look forward to what is ahead for me. I’d also like to say that my family and friends were a big part of my getting through all of this and even though I didn’t mention much of that they should know I appreciate them being there for me.

   And that I will end this post regarding the subject. Take Care